The final report the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack is due to release on Wednesday ushers in a new era for criminal investigators, politicians and members of the public eager to see the details of its work.
Here’s what to watch out for:
Details of a possible obstruction of the investigation
In the summary of its report released earlier this week, the panel revealed that it was aware of “multiple efforts by President Donald Trump to contact select committee witnesses,” adding that the DOJ was aware of “at least one of these circumstances”.
The summary released on Monday also claimed the panel had a “range of evidence suggesting specific efforts to impede the Committee’s investigation.” This includes concerns that lawyers paid by Trump’s political committee or allied groups “have specific incentives to defend President Trump rather than zealously represent their own clients.”
Details of Trump’s efforts to visit the Capitol
The summary details that the panel was ultimately unable to get former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato to corroborate an explosive moment during the public hearings, in which Hutchinson recalled Ornato describing the Trump’s altercation with the head of his security service when he was told he would not be taken to the Capitol after his speech on the Ellipse.
The committee summary indicates that Hutchinson and a White House employee testified before the panel about the conversation with Ornato. But “Ornato said he did not recall any of these communications and had no knowledge of the president’s anger.”
The committee wrote that it “has serious concerns about the credibility of this testimony” and pledged to release its transcript.
Fund raising
In terms of fundraising after the 2020 presidential election and at rallies on January 6, the committee says it has collected evidence indicating that Trump “raised approximately a quarter of a billion dollars in fundraising efforts between the election and January 6th”.
“These solicitations consistently claimed and referenced voter fraud that did not exist,” the panel wrote.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, said the panel had evidence that members of Trump’s family and inner circle – including Kimberly Guilfoyle – had personally benefited from the money that was raised on the basis of the false election claims by the former president, but the panel never went so far as to say that a financial crime was committed.
Learn more about what to watch out for here.
